


Redemption (and sunflowers)

by revoleotion



Series: Sunflower redemption [2]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Angst and Fluff, Driving Lessons, Father and Son Relationship, Hey I just want them all to be happy, Leo loves the dread doctors, M/M, Marcel is a good dad, Marcel is not an art student, Modern AU, One Shot, Some angst, Theo is soft, Thiam, University, Valentine's Day, also sebastien's reincarnation sorta exists??
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-05
Updated: 2019-03-11
Packaged: 2019-11-12 07:17:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18006305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/revoleotion/pseuds/revoleotion
Summary: A collection of One Shots centering around the modern version of my favorite Dread Doctor, Marcel. Basically a lot of father and son bonding moments with Theo.Liam is there too. And the others from the pack™ appear as well.





	1. The man who taught himself to perform surgery (is a bad driver)

**Author's Note:**

> Most of those are really random and soft. I did my best not to make it angsty.  
> Have fun with this!  
> \- Ben

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Theo knows how to drive. Marcel doesn't.

"I'm just saying, I shouldn't be the one teaching _you_ how to drive. You should be the one teaching _me_ ", Theo muttered as Marcel grabbed the wheel.

Liam on the backseat tried not laugh. Marcel glared into the driving mirror as he said: "I don't think you should be here."

"You won't kill me", Liam said.

"I already tried it once."

"And you failed."

Liam smiled as Marcel rolled his eyes and looked at the other buttons in the car. Theo turned around in the passenger seat and kissed Liam, whispering a "I'm proud".

"Don't be proud", Liam whispered back, "I have an attitude problem."

"I can hear you", Marcel informed them and pressed the button that would start the car. Because Theo only owned one Audi A6, Marcel had to learn driving in this one. Theo didn't seem to be scared that Marcel crashed it - or he simply didn't care. Liam and Theo could heal from accidents, so he cared most about Marcel's safety.

The car jumped backwards and Liam almost ripped Theo's seat apart as he slammed his claws into it.

"Careful!", Theo said and Marcel hit the breaks with enough energy to stop a small train.

"So, this is why we have seatbelts", Liam said as he almost flew through the vehicle. Theo made a sound that was something between a laugh and a desperate sigh. As Liam looked into the mirror, he noticed that Theo was smiling wildly. His smile could be soft when he looked at Liam, but when he was smiling all for himself, his smile was raw and untamed. Liam loved this smile, he loved when Theo set a part of himself free that he hadn't admitted before. Theo wasn't a cold, unfeeling monster. He was no mistake. He wasn't quite human but who of them was, really?

Marcel, Marcel-the-dread-doctor, was the most human of them all, and yet he behaved the most awkward. He carefully pressed the gas again and hummed with satisfaction as the car drove backwards.

"Watch the mirrors", Theo softly said and Marcel did. He forgot to stop the car, and almost ran over an innocent person on the parking lot, but he slammed the breaks a second later. Again, Liam was pulled forward and he thanked the modern tech for his seatbelt.

"This was... something. Maybe try a circle around the lot", Theo said and gently pushed the gear shift so the car drove forward. Marcel smiled at him and switched to the gas pedal again. The car drove forward smoothly, and Marcel seemed to relax a little. He made a full circle around the parking lot until Theo asked him to stop. A lot more careful than before, Marcel stopped the car and leaned back. Liam could see on the mirror that his usual pale face was red and a small smile was on his lips. He was proud of himself. Liam was proud of him too but it wasn't his turn to say it.

"Good job", Theo said and petted Marcel's shoulder. "Now, we don't need to practice how to emergency brake... and you know how to drive forwards and backwards. Next time, we'll do it on the road."

Marcel looked like he might faint.

"Excuse me?", he asked. Liam laughed. Theo grinned wildly.

"Com'on, dad, let me drive home. You watch and learn."

Marcel slowly released the steering wheel and opened the door. Theo got out as well. The two talked but Liam tried not to listen, especially after hearing the words "proud of you". It wasn't easy, especially not as a werewolf. In the end Liam gave up and decided to forget about what they said.

"I'm doing my best", Marcel said quietly.

"You're doing amazing. When you're a famous surgeon, you'll get a better car", Theo said.

"Yours is wonderful."

"I wonder who gifted it to me."

At this point there was a small pause. Liam looked out of the window and noticed that Marcel was looking down.

"Take it as a birthday present", he finally said. "I didn't know which one you would like, I had to pretend like it wasn't from m-"

Liam looked away as the two hugged and only dared to lift his eyes as Theo sat down on the driver's deat.

The drive home was a lot less anxiety-provoking than the ten minutes of Marcel driving. Liam looked out of the window as Theo explained road signs ("road work ahead? Yeah, I sure hope it does?"), laughed about Marcel's expressions and finally stopped at their house.

Liam got out of the car and smiled at the former dread doctor.

"Don't worry", he said, "it will get worse."

"Thanks, I hate it."

Liam was so shocked about the joke that he forgot to answer.


	2. The softest evil I know

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I did this on Valentines Day for Imani.  
> Theo has a date on Valentines day. Marcel doesn't have one, yet.

"I don't get it." Scott looked at the sleeping man on the couch and raised an eyebrow as Theo made a small gesture towards him, like he was trying to protect him from Scott. His eyes had a bitter yellow glow to it and his claws showed Scott that he wouldn't hesitate to harm him.

"Calm down", Stiles said, not necessarily being calm himself. The only human in the room - no, this wasn't true, Scott reminded himself. For now, Stiles wasn't the only human but he was the only civilian. Stiles was the one Scott would protect in a confrontation, like Theo would protect the man on the couch.

"This is him now?", Scott asked and stepped back a little. Theo's claws disappeared but the protective yellow glow remained. Scott remembered Theo as a boy that never cared enough about others, and a man who couldn't feel empathy nor sympathy. It didn't make sense that he was so protective now, over someone that had ruined enough in their lives (and especially Theo's life).

"Liam and I want one day off", Theo explained. Stiles scoffed at the sentence, seemingly unaffected by the fact that Theo was a werecoyote and a werewolf. There wasn't anyone less afraid of Theo than Stiles. It was a gift, and a curse.

Mostly a curse.

"Maybe I have a date", Stiles said.

"How homophobic of you", Theo answered. Scott felt like he had to intervene before those two killed each other.

"You want us to take care of him", he pointed at the man on the couch, "while you and Liam have fun tomorrow?"

"It's just for a day", Theo said and Scott could hear that he was annoyed. Annoyed like a teenager would be, but Scott wasn't ready to give him what he wanted.

"It's valentines day", he said. Stiles nodded in agreement. Theo frowned and turned to the man again. Marcel, as he called him and as Scott _refused_ to call him, was still asleep. He looked like someone that hadn't slept in days, which was valid considering he was trying to become a doctor the quickest way possible. Looking at him, Theo became soft, in a way Scott almost considered disgusting. Theo had no idea what a normal father figure should look like. To be fair, neither did Scott, but he had seen Stiles' dad.

"And why can't he be alone?", Scott asked.

"Because I don't want him to get hurt, you idiot. And he's not going to have the greatest time tomorrow, I can't-" The second Theo's voice cracked, a stone-cold expression took over his face. But Scott had seen the sadness in his eyes, no matter how hard Theo tried to hide it. Theo might not be nice to Scott or Stiles or anyone else Scott knew, but he tried for two people. Scott decided that this was enough for him.

"We do it", he said before Stiles could make fun of Theo's weakness. His best friend turned around, face full of betrayal.

"What the hell, Scott?", he asked. Fair, Stiles hadn't seen what Scott's werewolf reflexes had caught. Scott nodded towards him and whispered "I'll explain later". Not that a whisper had any impact in this atmosphere. Scott could hear it, Theo could hear it. It was for the dramatic effect, mostly.

"But we won't feed him and go on a walk with him", Stiles said because he really had no idea how to read a room.

"Compare my dad to a dog one more time and I will kill you", Theo hissed.

"You treated him like a dog in the first place!"

"I want him to be happy! He shouldn't sit in his room alone thinking about his dead boyfriend you guys fucking murdered!"

"He was evil!", Stiles yelled.

Theo jumped as the man on the couch moved. Marcel sat up, rubbed his eyes and blinked at the three people in his living room. Scott had to try his best to remember who this man was. A Dread Doctor. The Surgeon. Marcel looked calm and collected, a human like every other one. He looked like a young father in his mid-30s and it didn't take long for Scott to accidentally be polite.

"Good afternoon, Sir", he said and smiled at him. Stiles muttered something that sounded like a "you fake idiot" before he smiled as well and even offered Marcel his hand. The ex-dread-doctor didn't pay attention to any of them, he looked at Theo and sighed.

"What are you planning?"

"I got you a babysitter", Theo said like he hadn't just screamed at Stiles for making fun of this concept. Scott would never understand him.

"Do you want to die an early death, Theo Raeken?", Marcel asked friendly.

"They will take you out, it will be fun."

"I disagree."

"It looks like not even he wants it", Stiles said, "why do we do it then? You seem to be the only one that thinks it makes him happy."

At the last word, Marcel glared at Theo. He didn't smile, nor did anything else happen on his face. He only looked at him.

"I take it back. It will be wonderful", he slowly said. Theo didn't smile either but the look he gave his "father" seemed a lot like it. Scott didn't feel like he had a choice anymore. He grabbed Stiles and left.

"See you tomorrow, Sir", he yelled as he was at the door. Marcel didn't answer. But, to be fair, Scott was glad about it.

 

 

Valentines day started exactly how Scott didn't want to start it. He woke up at Stiles' place, looked at the clock and jumped to his feet. He whispered a "fuck" under his breath as he got dressed, then he touched Stiles' shoulder and woke him up.

"It's 9am and we should've met Marcel about 3 minutes ago" was enough to make Stiles repeat what Scott had done a few minutes ago. They skipped breakfast and sprinted to Stiles' truck after wishing Stiles' dad a great day. Scott calmed down a little as he fastened his seatbelt and took his time to check what he was wearing. A shirt that belonged to Stiles and that was out of his usual comfort zone, and his own jeans.

"That's my shirt", Stiles said as Scott tried to figure out why he had assumed that the plaid shirt belonged to him. And, to top it, Scott had put on a hoodie jacket over it. Was he Jake Peralta? No, he was an idiot.

"I know, sorry", he said.

"It looks okay on you."

"At least something."

Stiles tried to fix his hair as they parked the truck in Theo's driveway. He realized it was too late and gave his face in the car mirror the "time for a buzzcut" face. Scott knew the face too well, but Stiles hadn't done it a lot during the last weeks.

"You know, this is tragic", he said. "We could have a date."

"We have a date", Stiles said in a bitter tone and opened the door to jump out. Scott followed him and looked down on his shirt again. It wasn't too bad but he should really pay attention to what he was putting on.

"We should've gotten a girlfriend", Scott explained as he walked up to the front door.

"Yep." Stiles rung the doorbell.

 

 

Of course Marcel was not only prepared but _good looking_. He wore a coat Scott could never afford in this lifetime, a write shirt tucked into his pants. Next to him stood a sunflower-backpack and this was where Scott drew the line.

"The bag stays here", he said. Marcel glared at him.

"Good morning, Sir", Scott corrected himself and in this moment, he hated Marcel for something that wasn't dread doctor related.

"Hi", Stiles said. "Theo already left?"

"He left at nine", Marcel answered and smiled. Scott knew exactly what that smile meant but he wasn't ready to apologize for being late.

Until he was.

"We overslept, sorry."

Marcel didn't comment on it, which made the silence even more awkward. Theo's "dad" closed the door, locked it and threw the backpack over his left shoulder. Scott was both impressed and disgusted by that effortlessness, considering where it came from. They went to the truck and Marcel only flinched away from it for two seconds. Scott left him the backseat and climbed into the passenger seat next to Stiles.

It was a silent trip to the city. Whenever Scott looked into the mirror, he could see an awful expression on Marcel's face. He tried to ignore it but the obvious pain in those blue eyes made him sick. Stiles parked the truck at a surprisingly convenient parking spot, they all climbed out and looked around the city. Scott hadn't been to San Fransisco very often, the cold, dry air wasn't nice to his asthma. Now, as a werewolf, he wasn't interested in the city either. Marcel's face hadn't changed much. He didn't look around, he fidgeted with something in his jacket that looked a lot like a keychain.

"Sir, uh, would you like to go somewhere special?", Stiles asked with a side glare to Scott.

Marcel shook his head. "I apologize for-"

"No, I don't wanna hear it. Let's find a starbucks, they have about 500 in this city." Scott didn't wait for an answer. He didn't want to hear anything that would make him forgive Marcel.

He could forgive Theo, maybe. But Marcel? He never wanted to forgive this terrible man.

 

 

"So, you are my Sebastien-replacement", Marcel said.

"Theo mentioned him", Scott answered coldly. It got difficult to avoid Marcel's personal life. Stiles next to him sipped his decaf coffee and looked around the starbucks like he had no other joy in life.

"You killed him, you should know him."

This was so honest and cruel that Scott almost spit out his coffee. Stiles wasn't so lucky, he actually dropped his cup.

Nobody spoke during the awkward cleaning up part.

"You don't expect me to like you, don't you?", Marcel asked with a tiny smile.

"Two can play this game." Stiles didn't have any coffee to hide behind, so he crossed his arms and stared at Marcel. Scott could've stopped him but Marcel wasn't that much of a threat anymore. Unless he told Theo about this but it was unlikely.

"A game?" Marcel still had his coffee that he could sip for the dramatic effect. He did, and as he put down his cup, his blue eyes were interested. It was absurd. The sunflower-loving medical student had lost every bit of his dark steampunk aesthetic. Accusing him of the murders and horror he had caused felt wrong.

Stiles seemed unaffected by this, he rolled his eyes and nodded. Stiles protected Scott in a way Scott's werewolf powers never could. Stiles was probably the most jealous best friend on the planet but his natural distrust of strangers had its perks.

"You killed a bunch of people for what? Bringing a beast back that kills even more people?"

"I didn't expect you to be this stupid. He was perfect."

"Could it be that you are a tiny bit obsessed with him?", Stiles asked.

"I would've done anything to hold his hand one more time, yes. I don't think you teenagers would understand."

"I know what love is!", Stiles protested. It wasn't exactly true. Stiles had never been really comfortable around girls but everything he did with boys seemed to be to satisfy an invisible audience. Marcel couldn't possibly know this but he sipped his coffee anyway.

"You're not better than us", Scott helped. Stiles smiled at him to thank him and Scott smiled back.

"I'm not better than you. I do not deserve redemption of any kind and yet, Theo thinks so. And while I might have been unethical or... _evil_ , I never threw girls away like they were nothing." It was a good thing that Stiles couldn't throw his coffee anymore. Instead, he threw a napkin at Marcel's face.

The man seemed unaffected by it; he pushed it away and continued with his coffee.

"You killed more girls than we ever dated", Stiles said angrily.

"I don't want to discuss your love life with you." Marcel calmly scooped the milk foam out of his cup and did not once break eye contact with Stiles. Scott forgot what he had looked like as a dread doctor, Marcel was a terrible force to mess with either way.

"What _do_  you want to discuss with you? Your student life? Sebastie-"

It was wise that Stiles didn't finish his sentence because the thing that happened in Marcel's eyes was deadly and inhumane. Scott was sure that he could kill them both with his cup of coffee.

"You are exactly like Theo", he told Marcel. "Would it kill you to say that you care for something?"

"I care for Theo more than I care about myself. He is my son."

It was the first thing Marcel had said that impressed Scott; it was not only honest but so pure and human that he had to look away from Marcel's blue eyes. Scott would've forgiven him instantly but Stiles was still his jealous best friend and Stiles still hated Marcel.

"This is unhealthy", he said. "You can't just obsess with someone and kill for them and..."

"I was under the impression that I didn't kill anyone yet."

"Are you _kidding_ me?"

"Marcel Valet never even hurt anyone", Marcel explained with that obnoxious smile Scott had seen on Theo's face a thousand times. And even though it was so petty and unfair of Marcel to hide behind his fake identity, Scott noticed his last name. It took him a while to figure out why it sounded familiar, then his eyes widened and he looked over to Stiles. Stiles, the strategist, the genius, understood.

Scott looked at his clock. If they payed now and left, they would be home in time. He had made it. He could only hope that Marcel wouldn't say a word to Theo about the terrible things Scott and Stiles had said to him.

Marcel was twisted. His morals were questionable but as a student, he wasn't an actual threat. As long as Theo and Marcel were living their usual life, nobody would suspect the terrible man Marcel had been. Scott hated him - but he couldn't take his delicate future away from him.

"We'll leave", he said. "Stiles, you want a hot chocolate for the trip?"

"Absolutely."

 

 

Marcel hadn't said anything on the way home. Scott and Stiles had discussed shows and movies and that Scott should finally watch _Star Wars_.

They had almost forgotten about the man on the backseat until they parked the car in front of Theo's house.

"Oh shit", Stiles whispered towards Scott but to their horror, Marcel already walked towards the house. Scott stared at the sunflower-backpack.

"It was nice knowing you, friend", Scott said to him. Stiles grinned nervously and followed Marcel. They waited in front of the door like kids that had done something wrong and now feared confrontation.

Theo opened and looked down on them with a blank expression. Only his eyes smiled but this smile wasn't for Scott or for Stiles.

"You're back. How was your day?"

Scott held his breath and waited for Marcel's words. This would decide if Scott would kill them.

Marcel inhaled, exhaled and said: "I really need to finish my homework. I hope you and Liam enjoyed your day off."

He petted Theo's shoulder, walked past him and disappeared in the house.

"What did you do?", Theo asked, eyes glowing and claws ready to kill. Stiles rolled his eyes.

"He is a terrible person, he suits you. We even payed for his coffee, calm down."

Theo looked over to Scott.

"It was okay", he said because he felt like he had to, "There's good in him."

"You better fucking believe it", Theo muttered before he slammed the door shut.

Stiles looked at Scott.

Scott looked back.

"Happy valentines day", he said.

"Next year we'll get a girlfriend", Stiles said.


	3. university vibes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marcel is NOT an art student.

"Marcel Valet?"

The Surgeon that technically wasn't one yet looked up as the name was called. He walked through the rows of students and stopped in front of the teacher. He looked at his notes about medicine in the 18th century and took a deep breath.   
"Good morning ladies, gentlemen and-" He stopped and nervously looked down on the notes. Theo had told him the word but he had forgotten about it.   
"Good morning students", he started again and glared at the professor. "And Mr. Jean."

Since the most embarrassing part was over, Marcel cleared his throat and started his presentation. The students listened to him, impressed but they had no idea that Marcel's knowledge didn't only come from the books he had read on this topic. He explained the side effects of mercury and what it was used for, he speculated about effects on the human body and how long a human could survive when mercury was injected. He talked and talked and finally realized that he loved who he was becoming.

  
The backstory he told others was easy to remember and had no room for failure. Marcel grew up in a small French village that nobody knew but still existed on the map. He had moved to America and adopted a son despite his young age. He had always wanted to become a surgeon but he only signed up for a university after his son was married and moved out. According to the passport and the ID Marcel owned, he was born in 1983. Theo called him old but Marcel had started laughing as he had done the math. He was now 35 years old again, and this was a lot better than 260-something.

"You became a father at 24", Theo had said as they wrote down the backstory. "No wonder I'm so fucked."   
"You aren't fucked up because you were adopted, we adopted you because you were fucked up", Marcel had answered.   
"Can't it be both?", Theo had asked and Marcel had smiled at him.

The worst problem about being 35 was that Marcel didn't grow up with the other 35 year olds. Theo had explained the whole 80s-kids movement and that Marcel was a millennial now. He understood that this was some sort of generation but he didn't understand why pictures on the internet had to be funny. Marcel's internet skills included writing and reading emails, printing his university protocols and maybe looking up books he needed. This was already difficult enough for him, and Marcel couldn't understand why he should point at a trash can and call it "me". He wasn't a trash can.

Marcel finished his presentation and sat down again. He had exactly two friends at university who reminded him of the Pathologist and the Geneticist. Both of them didn't talk much, and Marcel suspected it was because he didn't talk much either. The students seemed to dislike him because he was older than them and an "overachiever". Maybe this was a fancy word to say that they didn't understand why he had perfect grades and didn't understand their culture.   
Teenagers. Marcel had forgotten how much he disliked them.   
Nobody dared to make fun of him anymore, not after he had turned to one of them and politely explained that they all had the "entitlement and the narcissism typical of their generation". Theo hadn't stopped laughing about it so far; whenever something reminded him of it, he laughed so much he had to cry.   
"You can't do that, imagine how those poor 17-year old snobs must've felt like", he had said, "I am so proud of you Marcel."   
"I am proud of you too, Theo", Marcel had said because he hadn't gotten the joke.

"Good job", one of his friends said and smiled at him. "I'm glad I didn't grow up in a time they used mercury."   
Marcel did his best not to be offended.   
"Especially when working with the supernatural, scientists believed-", he started.   
His friend started giggling at the word "supernatural" and Marcel gave up on the conversation.

He sat through two more presentations and packed his notes away. He took notes in a messy handwriting that nobody could seem to read. Sometimes, he took down things in French and used words that Theo called "old-fashioned". But it worked for Marcel, that's why he continued with it. Theo had promised him that his bag was modern and that everyone had one, which turned out to be true. Everyone had the same backpack in different colors and sizes. Marcel's was yellow because yellow was his favorite color.   
"Like sunflowers", he had told Theo. After his first day of university, he had found a sunflower on the living room table.

His way home was long enough to study in the train. Marcel couldn't read for long in a moving vehicle, that's why he knew every bit of the way by heart. He liked looking out of the window. Sometimes he repeated the lessons inside his head and made sure he hadn't forgotten anything important. Marcel wasn't a fan of headphones. They weakened his ability to hear and after getting glasses, Marcel was protective of his other senses. He put his notes away as he felt sick and looked out of the window. Thanks to his dislike of headphones, he heard that someone was sitting next to him. It was a man, maybe 30 years old and with long brown hair and dark eyes. Marcel regretted making eye contact because now he had to say something. He could speak French, but the man seemed nice.

"Hello", he said.   
"Hello", the man answered. "You look like you study art."   
"I get that a lot but I'm a medical student."   
The stranger looked at his hair, the backpack and the shoes. Marcel wore boots with a flower print on them, the same flowers that were on his shirt. Sunflowers, obviously. Theo had found the shoes "on the internet" and had ordered them, together with Marcel's new pencil case (yellow), pens, markers and the keychain Marcel hid in his jacket. It wasn't like he was embarrassed of showing it off, but he had noticed that he calmed down when he touched the small sunflower.   
"My name is Marcel", he said as the stranger continued looking.   
"I'm Sebastien."

The name had faded from Marcel's memory but hearing it was like a punch in his chest. He gasped for air and looked for the small sunflower in his pocket.   
"Sorry", he said and got up. "I'm so sorry."   
It wasn't his stop yet, but Marcel got up and walked the endless kilometers that were left.

It was almost dark when he came home. Theo knew his schedule but he didn't ask any questions as Marcel entered. He sat down in the living room and tried to sort out the notes of the day. His handwriting got worse every sentence he wrote down until he couldn't read it anymore.

"Marcel?", Theo asked.   
"I met someone in the train today." Marcel's voice sounded blurry in his head. "His name was Sebastien."   
"Oh, fuck."   
"It's like you can read my thoughts", Marcel said without a smile.   
Theo didn't smile either. He carefully took away Marcel's pen and put it into the yellow pencil case. He sorted the notes and put them out of Marcel's reach, them he managed to find the remote unter a pillow.   
"We will watch a movie now", he announced. "And you won't say a word until it's over."   
"I need to do my homework."   
"Marcel, I swear to science, on one of those days I will kill you."   
Theo got up and looked to the cupboard that he always stacked with sweets and cans of ginger ale. He inspected the chocolate bars, chips and the peanut butter chocolate cups until he shook his head and muttered: "Not enough."   
"Failure?", Marcel offered.   
"Your condition worsens", Theo answered.   
With that mysterious quote, he disappeared in the kitchen. Marcel heard the fridge opening, a small "no, no, no", then a crash and a louder "fuck". After a small silence, the fridge closed again and Theo appeared with ice cream and a single spoon.   
"You forgot the bowl", Marcel said helpfully.   
"You will eat this alone." Theo pushed the ice cream towards Marcel and handed him the spoon.   
"I will?"   
"You will."   
They looked at each other. Theo gave in after Marcel's death glare but didn't take the ice cream back. Marcel sighed quietly and opened it. It seemed to be vanilla with chocolate chips, which he liked, so he carefully took a spoonful. Theo put on a movie he didn't know, but after a few confusing minutes he understood what was happening. It was a French movie, Theo activated the subtitles for himself. The plot wasn't hard to understand. _Intouchables_ had not only wonderful music, everything else seemed so real to Marcel that he forgot about his thoughts for a moment. As the credits showed him that it was over, he had finished the ice cream and tears rolled down his cheeks.

"Alright, you're allowed to talk again", Theo said and turned off the TV.   
"I'm scared that I will like him."   
Marcel didn't know why he said it. Maybe he had to say it out loud to someone that may understand him. His words had some bitterness he tried to ignore most of the time.   
"Listen, I could never imagine befriending anyone named Scott. Or worse: Stiles."   
"I don't think you will meet a lot of people called Stiles in life."   
Theo glared at him like the joke was interrupting a brilliant monologue. Marcel smiled back and shrugged.   
"Anyway", Theo continued, "you won't get him back. You know how much the plan backfired. I can keep on feeding you ice cream and sad movies but I don't think we can get around this. Your Sebastien is dead."   
Marcel was happy that he already cried about the movie, so he could blame it on the fresh tears on his cheeks. It wasn't meant to hurt this way. This was the worst thing about being human, the happiness was brighter and the pain was too much to take. Marcel hadn't cried enough after Sebastien's death; to be honest, he hadn't cried at all. Science had become his obsession so he could ignore the pain, and when science numbed him and made him less human, he welcomed it.   
"I called myself Valet like I deserve that name", he told Theo.   
"So what? It's a _name_ , Marcel. It can't haunt you forever."   
"What if it does?"   
"Then you'll be unhappy forever. Sorry, that's how it is."   
Theo didn't sound like he was sorry. Marcel nodded, wiped the tears away and reached for his notes.   
"Thank you", he said. "You're not so evil after all."   
"Don't say that, I wear it with pride. What did I do for you to consider a 9 year old the most evil being on earth?"   
Marcel wasn't sure if he had an answer for that. He froze, fingers a few meters away from the pencil case, eyes wide open.   
"I don't remember. But I was wrong."   
"Maybe you weren't", Theo said.   
"I was", Marcel said loudly. "You aren't evil. You aren't a bad person."   
Theo looked at him and for a second, he looked so scared and fragile that Marcel wanted to hug him. He reached out for him but Theo escaped into the hug first. Marcel stroke his back but as he wanted to say something, Theo whispered: "Don't."

So, he didn't say anything. They hugged each other for a few minutes, then Marcel cleaned up the living room. Theo sat on the couch and went through the study notes. After a few seconds he put the notes down and used his phone.   
"Too complicated?", Marcel joked.   
"I read mercury and lost interest", Theo answered sarcastically.   
Marcel threw a pen at him.

Since it was friday, he had time to do the homework later. Marcel wasn't fond of keeping things waiting, that's why he wrote the protocol and prepared the next lecture while Theo cooked dinner. Theo never wanted his help with it. The moment Marcel put his university notes away, Theo called him to come.   
Marcel's head hurt from the medicinal vocabulary as he prepared the table for them. Theo put a bowl of pasta in front of him and smiled as Marcel thanked him.

"Do you need anything else? We can get croissants for breakfast."   
"Don't say it that way."   
"Croissant?", Theo repeated.   
Marcel sighed dramatically but he couldn't help a smile as he started eating. He didn't find words that could describe how thankful he was. Theo gave him the illusion of a normal life, it felt so real that Marcel had decided to live inside this illusion. Most of his life was based on a lie but it was a nicer lie than pretending to be straight. In fact, as long as Marcel didn't hurt anyone he didn't even feel bad about it.

He would kill for Theo. But he would prefer eating pasta with him.

"Apart from the not-so-nice-part, how was university? Was the presentation due to today?"   
"Yes." Marcel dropped the fork and the spoon into his bowl and looked up to Theo. Theo used to make fun of him eating pasta with fork and spoon ("What are you, French?" "Yes, I thought you knew.") but today he didn't.   
"You got a grade already?", he asked.   
"They send it to me in the evening", Marcel said and realized the meaning of his words a second later, "which is now."   
He picked up the fork and the spoon again and continued eating. His stepson stared at him like he was trying to figure him out. He didn't, apparently, because he asked: "Aren't you curious?"   
"We are busy eating, Theo."   
"What was your student ID again?" Theo pulled out his phone and looked at him in anticipation.   
Marcel sighed quietly but spelled it out for him. Theo didn't ask for his password, he probably thought he could guess it easily. A few seconds passed until Theo looked up again.   
"How do you spell Sebastien? Did you add his last name?"   
"That's not my password", Marcel answered calmly.   
Theo pouted, then he grinned and typed something new. Marcel focused on his pasta again, believing that Theo had given up. There weren't many people he could ask for Marcel's password - Marcel had never asked his new friends for their numbers and he obviously hadn't told them his password anyway.   
"So, good news: It's a perfect score. Bad news: You almost made me cry."   
Theo showed him the phone so Marcel could check if he was right. It was true, the score was perfect.   
"You guessed the password", Marcel said to avoid asking why he made Theo cry.   
"Yes and it's sad! You used my name? You know what my password is?"   
"I don't want to-"   
"Zucchini43", Theo said with a sparkle to his eyes.

Marcel didn't know how to react. He opened his mouth but closed it again and smiled. Was it funny because it made no sense? Or worse: Did it make sense? Was it a widely recognised joke?

"Oh", he finally said.   
Theo laughed. "You are a hopeless case, I love it."   
"Please don't tell anyone, I don't know how to change it."   
Again, Theo laughed.   
"I promise, dad", he said and looked down on his dinner, "this is... this is pure. Keep it going."   
"I intend to", Marcel said and was confused because he had just told him that he wanted to keep the password. Theo stared at him for a few seconds but left the topic alone.

Marcel finished his dinner and allowed himself to be proud of himself. This was no success, not a real one at least. But he was proud of himself, at least a little bit.   
He smiled at Theo and helped him cleaning the dishes. While the hot water burned his hands, Marcel listened to Theo complaining about math formulas and younger classmates that "didn't understand that he would rather die than letting them into his car".

It was a nice evening, maybe because there had been bad moments during the day.   
Life really was just one big experiment, with a few successes and failures and partners that helped you on the way. The result was open and for now, Marcel didn't care what it would be. He looked at the sunflowers on his sleeve and nodded like had just figured out the solution he was looking for for 260 years.   



	4. Good old times (an Umbrella Academy crossover)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Theo punches a bunch of angry veterans for insulting his dad.

"Would you let me out for a minute?", Marcel asked as he saw the sign of the bar. Theo glared to the right and frowned.

"Oh-kay", he slowly agreed and stopped the car.

"I'll be back", Marcel softly said, opened the door and climbed out of the car.

In front of the bar, he made eye contact with Theo one last time. His son squinted to read the sign, and as he did it, he gave Marcel a small, apporoving nod.

Marcel pushed the door open.

"So, what war have  _you_  been in, exactly?", the man at the billiard table asked as he entered the bar. Marcel looked down on his shoes and shook his head, not ready to answer and especially not ready to start a fight over this. He couldn't hear his own breathing, he had learnt not to make any sound, to disappear from everyone's eye and memory.

This time it didn't help.

When it got too quiet, Marcel heard gun shots. When it was too loud, he heard them anyway. There was no escape.

"Oh, you're one of  _those guys_ ", the man said and turned to his friends again. Marcel was close to repeating "one of those guys?" but instead, he walked to the wall of photographs and newspaper articles and looked how far they went in time. It didn't surprise him that there was nothing about the wars he had been in - and if Marcel was honest, he tried to delete the 2nd world war from his memory, so this wasn't useful at all.

Still, he didn't want to leave yet. He needed to talk about memories that remained painful after all those years. Sure, Marcel didn't look like he had been in any war that was relevant. He wasn't tall and he wore a large coat that made him look even smaller. His expression was constantly frightened and he walked like someone that wanted to invite everyone to punch him.

"Ey, asshole, he's talking to you", another man yelled. Marcel hid his hands in the pockets of his coat so nobody noticed how badly they were shaking. He inhaled deeply and counted to seven until he exhaled.

"I don't mean to be disrespectful", he said.

The men didn't seem impressed by his words.

For a few seconds, Marcel considered staying. He deserved it. He deserved to remember his past and he deserved a place where he could cry because he was missing the one person he had loved more than himself.

This didn't seem to be the right place for it.

Marcel turned to the exit but the man walked towards him, not really looking like he was interested in a peaceful solution.

"Please", Marcel said and choked on the word, "I deserve to be here, I miss h-"

The gesture the man made was too familiar. Marcel flinched and raised his hands.

The man's punch was blocked by Theo who only took a short look at Marcel before smashing the veteran into the billiard table. The wooden table crashed but to Marcel's surprise the man got back up and walked towards them again. He pointed at Marcel and raised his voice.

"I want an apology", he yelled so loudly that both Marcel and Theo flinched.

"I'm afraid that we are the ones that deserve an apology", Theo shot back once he calmed down enough.

"What?"

"Gatekeeping in a bar for veterans? Really? What a shame for our country you are."

Marcel wasn't sure what Theo meant but it probably worked not as well as he wanted it. The veteran jumped forward to punch Theo in the face, and Theo (who looked strangely pleased by this) stepped back and showed his yellow eyes. He moved so fast that the veteran didn't even have time to dodge. He flew against the wall and landed on the ground with a numb crashing noise.

"Theo", Marcel said in a tone that was so weak it disgusted him.

"Yes?", Theo asked as he punched the second man that went for him.

"Are we doing this?", Marcel asked.

"Yepp." Marcel rolled his eyes, then he smiled and slowly turned to the man attacking Theo.

"Excuse me, that is my son", he told him, curled his hand into a fist and punched him. Marcel wasn't used to this anymore but his punch was powerful enough to knock the man back anyway.

"This wouldn't have happened in my bar", he informed Theo in amusement. Theo laughed so hard he almost got hit in the face for it. Marcel was there to protect him, and to his surprise he was enjoying it.

"You continue to surprise me", Theo said as he looked down on the men the two had just finished. "I thought when I hit you-"

"You  _tried_  to hit me."

"Don't be rude, I just punched three people for you. I thought your metal armor was doing the trick."

"I owned a bar before I went for that medical degree", Marcel explained and raised an eyebrow at Theo's muttered: "Get yourself a man that can do both."

He looked around the bar and closed his eyes for a second. By all means, this was hardly a safe space for him. Maybe he had been inhumane for too long or he was too old to connect to modern soldiers. It was a shame, like Theo had said. But Marcel couldn't blame anyone for it.

"You okay, dad?", Theo asked. Marcel opened his eyes again and nodded.

"This place is horrible. Almost makes me want to open a bar again", he said to cheer Theo up. It worked, Theo smiled brightly and walked towards the exit.

"Listen, if you really want to find out something about him... he has family in town. They all suck and are Henri's descendants but..." Theo stopped and shrugged. "He isn't completely forgotten."

"I am aware that he has family", Marcel said flatly.

"Because you didn't kill them. I know. You can hate them all you want but maybe they can be a little bit useful. Just like me."

"I don't hate y-"

"Shut it", Theo interrupted him. "I'm evil, remember?"

Marcel looked at his face, looking for the pain in Theo's eyes. Today, there was none of that.

"Inherently evil", he confirmed and followed his stepson to the exit.

It wasn't really a surprise that nobody told them to stop.


	5. glitter and regrets (a groundhog day crossover)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The same day happens over again. It could be fun - if Marcel didn't die every time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh BOI, I waited ages to post this! This is for Miles, the love of my life in another time-line. Happy Birthday, sis!!  
> This is a prequel to all my other One Shots in this! Also: major angst warning!!!!

The alarm clock woke Theo Raeken up at 6am. Disturbed and annoyed by how early he had set it, he turned around and looked at the face of his husband.    
Liam wasn’t there.    
Theo turned to the alarm again and finally noticed where he was. It was the 13th of July, he was in a small hotel and celebrated the national holiday of a country he hated with all his heart. He was still confused why exactly he agreed to this - and worse: he didn’t know why he had agreed to sleeping in a different room than Liam.    
“Your dad wants to spend time with you”, Liam had said with a soft smile that didn’t make sense to Theo yet. Liam sometimes pushed Theo towards being a better person. Theo had no idea why he did most of the things Liam wanted him to, but it worked most of the time.    
His dad was awake already, obviously. That was why Theo had set the alarm so early, because he tried to be a good company when Marcel’s nightmares woke him up. But Theo was human (at least sort of), that’s why he allowed himself to sleep until 6. 

“Are you awake yet?”, he asked the human-shaped silhouette sitting on the armchair next to the TV.    
“Yes”, Marcel said.   
This was the first time during their visit that Marcel didn’t tell Theo do go to sleep again. He also didn’t tell him that everything was fine. His voice was strained and it seemed like even this little word was too much for him.    
“Are you alright, dad?”, Theo asked as he got up.    
The human-shaped silhouette didn’t move but once Theo was close enough to Marcel, he could see that the dread doctor was in pain. Theo could take it; he always took his pain when he got the chance. It was the least he could do as a werewolf. But this pain wasn’t physical.    
“Bad dreams, huh?”   
Theo sat down on the floor in front of Marcel and shrugged.    
“Isn’t today a holiday? You should be patriotic and… happy.”   
“I’m sorry.”

Marcel’s head fell back and hit the backrest of the armchair. Theo watched him to make sure he didn’t hurt himself but the gesture seemed rather frustrated than motivated by the intention to cause pain.    
“Don’t be sorry. You are making this difficult for me, Marcel.”   
A little smile appeared on the frenchman’s lips. Theo was satisfied, but the worry didn’t disappear yet.    
“Is it him?”, he asked. “I know you miss him.”   
Marcel shook his head. “I will see him soon.”   
Now, that was terrifying. Theo jumped to his feet and immediately checked Marcel’s pulse. The doctor that had never been one watched him checking his vitals but didn’t help him. Theo was scared enough that he considered calling Liam, but this might be a joke. This might be a terrible joke. Marcel’s humor sometimes was like that. Theo and him fueled each other’s sarcasm; both of them loved jokes that crossed lines. But Marcel rarely joked about his own death. He joked about teenagers, modern tech and pluto not being a planet.    
But if Marcel wasn’t joking, there was only one possibility left: It wasn’t a joke.   
“Why didn’t you tell me?”, Theo asked quietly.

The dread doctor smiled softly and shook his head. 

“I am going to be patriotic now. Would you get the bag from my suitcase?”   
This wasn’t a satisfying answer, this was an answer that made everything worse. Theo wanted to shake Marcel until he stopped being so heroic and dense. Instead, he went for a short hug that became awkward instantly when Marcel returned it.    
They stayed like this for a few seconds: Marcel’s human-shaped silhouette in the armchair and Theo standing in front of him. Then, Theo stepped back and gave his stepfather a serious look.    
“You are the only family I have. You can’t go. But if you have to, I will take your pain until the very end.”   
He meant it. Marcel’s eyes showed Theo that the dread doctor understood. 

This was all Theo needed. He had stopped believing that everyone would stay, and he had started believing in goodbyes. 

Theo got the bag Marcel had mentioned and dared to take a look before he brought it to his stepfather. He had no clue what was inside, the peak didn’t really help him. He had to hope that Marcel would show him - which was likely. Marcel didn’t own many material possessions, he never bought things and trusted only what Theo gave him. It was both adorable and annoying, because Theo really shouldn’t select his father’s toothbrush or clothes to wear. Well, the clothing-part was convenient, because otherwise Theo had to explain Marcel that his ideal style was the one of a queer art student and not of a man in his late 30s that wanted to be respected. 

“Is it a present?”, Theo asked as he dropped the bag into Marcel’s lap.

Marcel didn’t respond or react, he opened the bag and pulled out a notebook, a pen, a fair bunch of medical devices Theo remembered from the lab. He looked at them, then up to Marcel.    
“So, no present then?”, he asked.   
“That depends. I want you to have this.”

Theo looked at the notebook and the second he read his own name on the cover, his stomach twisted. He gasped for air, stepped back and hissed a sharp “go to hell” before he could stop himself. This was evidence that the dread doctors had been villains, that they had stalked and kidnapped Theo. Theo had seen Marcel taking notes in this diary countless times.

Theo did not deserve being the owner of this. He did not deserve being reminded of the years he was trying to forget. 

“Burn it”, Theo said loudly and ignored Marcel’s pained expression. “Throw it away. I can’t look at you as long as you have it.”

Theo’s clock said that it was 7am by now, late enough to wake Liam up. 

Marcel didn’t stop him as he opened the door. He stayed in the armchair, the miserable shadow of a man he could’ve been. Theo tried to imagine a future where he could be happy. 

He couldn’t think of one. 

 

He spent the rest of the day with Liam. They walked through Paris and avoided speaking French as much as they could. Theo was fluent in French, but this didn’t mean he liked speaking it. He ordered coffee and baguette for Liam and walked with him around parks and small streets. It was late in the evening when they returned to the hotel. 

Liam kissed him passionately and looked at him sadly when Theo muttered that he didn’t want to see his dad yet.

“He surely missed you”, Liam said.

“Oh, he  _ loves _ me”, Theo said but opened the door to his room. 

He stopped at the entrance, looking back at Liam one last time. He wasn’t ready for the silent treatment he would probably receive. Marcel could be heartless when it came to dealing with Theo, mostly because he had no idea how to solve fights. Theo had no idea either, but he was angry and able to fight Marcel, now that he wasn’t wearing the mask anymore. 

“Have you changed your mind yet?”, Theo asked.

Of course, he got no answer. Theo rolled his eyes, changed his clothes and went to bed. 

Tomorrow he would deal with Marcel. Tomorrow he would have time, and tomorrow he would be less angry. 

At 3am he woke up because it was too quiet. Theo was a werewolf. He should hear every breath Marcel took.

Unless Marcel was not breathing.

“Marcel?”, Theo asked quietly. The silence that answered him was terrible and unfair. Every step he made in the dull void of the bedroom felt like walking through hell. Theo didn’t want to know what would await him once he reached the armchair. 

The horror came far too early. Marcel’s eyes were closed and he looked so peaceful that Theo wanted to scream.

Theo shook Marcel’s body and yelled his name until Liam stormed into their room to help. 

He didn’t remember the rest of the night. There was regret, then tears, then nothing. 

 

-

 

The alarm woke Theo up at 6am. It was the 13th of July, according to his alarm clock, which was a terrible joke. The alarm clock really wanted to pretend like the worst day in Theo’s life hadn’t happened - but the pain in his chest said otherwise. He started sobbing before he could stop it, and pressed his blanked to his face. 

“Theo?”, a familiar voice said.

Familiar but… it couldn’t be real. 

Theo didn’t dare to lift his head. 

“Theo, why are you crying? Are you okay?”

The blanket was ripped from his hands before Theo could answer. He looked up and met Marcel’s worried eyes. Dull eyes. Pained eyes. But alive eyes.

“You died”, Theo said. 

“Yes. Sebastien killed me, but I came back. It’s fine.”

He didn’t sound fine but he sounded honest. Theo was sure that Marcel had no idea what he was talking about. 

“You died, yesterday… at night, I found you”, Theo stuttered.

Marcel held his shoulders and looked him in the eye.

“Theo. I am going to die. But I need to give you something first.”

Theo knew what it was but the anger still hit him. Marcel couldn’t force this kind of responsibility and trauma on him. Theo didn’t want to think about what once was, he wanted to live unapologetically, without anyone reminding him of the “failure” he was marked as.

“I don’t want it”, he said loudly. 

Marcel’s hands grabbed him tighter, he inhaled like he was in terrible pain and looked at Theo intensely. Marcel had blue eyes, Theo had to remember that.

If this was a dream, or a terrible joke, he had to remember the blue eyes.

“You can keep the stalker diary”, Theo hissed.

“How-”

“You did this yesterday! You died! This isn’t funny.”

Theo pushed his stepfather away and jumped to his feet. Marcel didn’t move, he froze in the frequency he was forced to live on and looked at him in shock. 

“I don’t know what you are talking about. Theo-”

“Fuck off!”, Theo yelled, grabbed his bag and ran to Liam’s door. 

 

“Theo, you need to understand…”, Marcel started as Theo opened the door in the evening.

“I don’t need anything”, Theo said and pulled the blanket over his head.

“Sleep well, Theo”, Marcel said after a few minutes. “I hope you had a nice day.”

“I hate you”, Theo muttered. 

The silence became too loud at 3am. 

Theo didn’t scream. He repeated the “I hate you” in his head until he blacked out. 

 

-

 

The alarm clock told Theo that it was 6am. He jumped to his feet and ran to Marcel, checking if he was alive. Theo was shaking, he was close to breaking down; this shouldn’t be possible, he had seen Marcel’s dead body two times. 

“Theo-”

The voice was too much for Theo. He stormed out of the room, hid inside Liam’s arms and didn’t dare entering the hotel room again. 

 

-

 

6am, the 13th of July. Theo threw the alarm to the ground. He didn’t even look at Marcel as he opened the window, climbed out and jumped.

“Theo!”, the dread doctor yelled in panic.

The cold air was comforting. The darkness was welcoming. 

 

-

 

Theo began to hate the song he had chosen for his alarm. He turned it off, stared into the darkness for a few seconds and then whispered a: “I am crazy.”

“You aren’t.”

“I am”, Theo said and walked to the window.

Marcel wasn’t fast enough to stop him. Theo smiled as his body hit the ground.

 

-

 

Marcel had blue eyes, Theo thought as he woke up again. He had no idea how much time had passed, he had stopped counting the 13th of Julys. He got up at 6am, got dressed and fled into the city. 

Paris had gotten boring by now. Theo had no problems understanding and speaking French. He ordered coffee and alcohol and even managed to buy cigarettes. Nothing he did had an impact on the world he watched, he could die or stay alive; the day ended with the alarm clock at 6am. 

Theo had perfected every skill he wanted to try out. One hundred bucks payed for piano lessons, slow dancing lessons, anything he wanted. Theo learned more than he could ever need, but it kept him busy. 

Some days he would spend with Liam in bed.

But he never returned to the hotel room. He couldn’t bare finding Marcel’s corpse anymore. He was Theo’s only family, Theo would never be ready for his death. 

So, he existed, day for day. Or rather: 13th of July after 13th of July. 

The ringtone became a welcome interruption of his nightmares. He knew everything that would happen when he didn’t interrupt life in the city.

Theo didn’t care about it, he wanted this day to finally end, he wanted Marcel to live or just stay dead if he had to die. 

 

-

 

It was the 197th time in the endless circle of July 13th repetitions, which Theo didn’t know because he hadn’t counted. Still, it was a special day to him because he had decided to stay in bed. 

Theo was incapable of believing or thinking or willing or living or dying. Theo wanted to stay in bed even if it meant looking into Marcel’s blue, worried eyes. 

“Are you okay, Theo?”

It was the first time in weeks that he heard the voice. Theo had tried to ignore it. That day, he smiled weakly and shook his head.

“I’m tired”, he said. “Please end this.”

Marcel got up from his armchair and walked to him. He stopped a meter away from the bed, looking down on Theo like a worried father would look down on his child.

“Are you feeling sick?”, he asked and closed the gap between them to take Theo’s arm. Theo wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. He had craved and feared having a father figure in his life. Marcel had a terrible past, and so did Theo. In those soft moments, Theo was ready to give Marcel the redemption he maybe didn’t deserve.

Marcel carefully put down his arm again. Theo looked into his blue eyes and tried not to notice how pale and sick he was looking. This was the man who died at 3am.

But it wasn’t 3am yet.

“Why don’t we stay here today?”, Theo asked. “I could sleep some more. And you look like you should rest as well.”

Marcel nodded. Before he could walk back to the armchair, Theo grabbed his arm.

“No, you will sleep properly.”

Marcel looked at him like he was trying to figure him out. Apparently he found what he was looking for because he sat down on his side of the bed and leaned against the wall. Theo smiled at him and Marcel smiled back. Theo couldn’t tell him, because Marcel would never believe him (or worse: he would believe him and  _ pity _ him), but he understood a bit of the weight immortality placed on a man. 

“We can go out tomorrow”, Theo promised and chuckled because there hadn’t been a tomorrow in weeks, “Now, how are you feeling?”

Marcel looked down on his hands, then up to Theo again. Theo prepared him for anger and regrets; he didn’t want the goddamn diary, even if he had to run away from the situation again. To his surprise, Marcel didn’t mention it. He spoke quietly and carefully.

“I’m sorry that I trusted someone else with this before trusting you.”

“Liam?”, Theo guessed and Marcel nodded. 

Now, this was interesting. What exactly had Marcel trusted Liam with?

“I’m mortal”, Marcel continued.

The two words hit Theo hard, but he also wanted to laugh because it was so absurd. Theo had seen Marcel die so many times and yet Marcel was scared of admitting his own mortality. 

“But you won’t die now, right, dad?”, Theo asked. 

He knew the answer. 3am. 

Marcel’s eyes became both soft and tired. He shook his head. 

“I’m not… this is not my time, Theo.”

Despite the awkwardness of sharing a bed with his stepfather, Theo moved closer and slapped him. Marcel pulled his head back and grabbed Theo’s arm. For what felt like the first time in ages, he looked like he was ready for fight back. Death, sadness, Theo, it didn’t matter. Theo lived for this expression.

“So you don’t mind dying but you  _ do _ mind getting hit into the face?”, Theo asked with the meanest smile he had. 

“Why would I-”

“You think your death affects nobody because this isn’t your time? Damn it, Marcel, you can’t adopt a guy and then leave him alone.”

“I kidnapped you.”

“Congrats”, Theo said, “Still, don’t leave me alone.”

“It’s not that easy.”

Theo laughed hysterically and couldn’t stop, especially as Marcel looked at him in shock. 

“You’re a pathetic villain.” 

“I don’t want to be a villain.”

“Become a doctor, then”, Theo said. 

“I’m not a doctor.” 

“For fuck’s sake, Marcel!”

Cursing had become both less and more fun since it had no consequences. Seeing Marcel’s horrified expression made it worth it. The dread doctor looked for words but didn’t find some, so he settled on a serious glare. Theo moved back to his side of the bed and pulled up his blanket. His phone made a noise and Theo went to pick it up. Liam asked him if he wanted to stay inside, which he answered with a 《Yes, please》.

Liam sent back a heart. Theo sent back two. It escalated after that. 

“You’d say it’s possible?”, Marcel asked after a few minutes. 

Theo looked up from his heart-spam and frowned. 

“You always tell me I can study whatever I want. Why shouldn’t this apply to you?”

Again, he shut up Marcel with his words, so he could return to messaging Liam. Marcel didn’t speak much but it always felt like success to shut him up.

“Besides”, Theo said in French, “You make a great doctor. You managed a heart transplant with no regard for hygiene or anesthesia.”

“Since when do you know French?”, Marcel answered in the same language. To Theo’s amusement, he felt less confident in his own mother-tongue. 250 years were a long time, long enough to forget a language. 

“It should be a surprise”, Theo lied. 

“It sure is.” Marcel smiled. “I’m surprised you didn’t mention the mercury.”

“Don’t get me started on the mercury. What were you  _ thinking _ , Marcel?”

“Professional secret.”

“Oh, fuck you.”

Theo got up and walked to the cupboard where they stored the snacks Theo had bought for the trips to the city. He threw two chocolate bars onto the bed, followed by two small water bottles and a package of éclairs. Marcel caught the latter and looked at the chocolate with disapproval.

Theo threw an apple into his face to make up for it. 

“Merci.”

Theo rolled his eyes and sat down again, carefully avoiding sitting on the chocolate.

“Eat something, I can make you tea if you like.”

“Don’t you want to spend the day with Liam?”, Marcel asked while inspecting the apple. 

“As a matter of fact, this time I want to spend it with my dad. You aren’t feeling well. You don’t have to tell me why but I want to stay.”

Maybe it was the matter of fact that 197 days had passed since the first time Theo had seen Marcel dying but he felt calmer about it. Maybe he could let him go now, if he had no regrets. From now on, he would make the infinite days count. The universe had given him the chance to spend time with his father, he should take the chance. He watched Marcel eating his apple and aiming with the core at the trash can. He missed it by a few centimeters but both of them pretended like he didn’t. Theo opened a chocolate bar and ate it, looking at the window to distract himself. He needed a few moments of peace before the conversation would go downhill. Part of him didn’t want to touch the bag with the diary and the remaining surgery utensils. Part of him looked forward to it. Part of him simply didn’t care. 

But Marcel didn’t mention it. He ate an éclair, drank the water and smiled at Theo from time to time.

Theo felt like he had done something right but he couldn’t tell what. Marcel seemed so peaceful that Theo calmed down as well. It was nice to sit next to him when words weren’t necessary. 

When it was dinnertime, Theo asked Marcel if he wanted to eat out. The dread doctor looked over to his suitcase for a second, and Theo (who knew exactly what was in there) held his breath. He was too busy worrying about what would happen next that he almost missed the response. 

“Yes”, Marcel said.    
“What?”, Theo asked. 

“Yes. I’d like to go out. Do you want to call Liam?”   
Theo ignored the urge to say “I can just text him, dad” because Marcel didn’t know the difference. He shook his head. 

“No. He’ll understand.”

The expression on Marcel’s face was priceless; it was the hesitant and soft face Marcel made when he received friendliness he didn’t think he deserved. Marcel was the living example of “ _ We accept the love we think we deserve _ ”. Deep inside Marcel had to know his value, but it was covered up by guilt. 

“So, what do you want to eat?”, Theo asked as he looked for his clothes. He settled on a button-up shirt and black jeans. Marcel went with his gay-art-student look. Theo just couldn’t rip this aesthetic away from him. Besides, it didn’t look too bad. Marcel’s shirt had a flower print on it, his linen pants looked great and he put on boots that made Theo a bit jealous. 

It wasn’t Theo’s style, nor was it Liam’s. It belonged to Marcel now and Theo was ready to give it to him if it made him happy. 

Theo googled a restaurant nearby but Marcel ignored the directions he told him. The dread doctor walked around the city like it was an old friend he hadn’t met in years. He smiled at street names and old buildings. Finally, he stopped at a cafe and looked up to Theo.

“This one?”, Theo asked.

It looked old and reminded him of something but he couldn’t put a finger on it.

“Opened in 1686?”, he read the sign as Marcel didn’t move. In his head, he did the math and decided that Marcel could indeed know it. 

“I visited Paris once”, Marcel said. “It was when I heard that Marie-Jeanne killed Sebastien. I sat down in the cafe and watched the authors and poets and revolutionaries.”

Theo opened the door for him. 

“I’m honored that you bring me. I’m not a poet, though.”

Marcel looked up to the sign before he entered, every movement careful and nostalgic. 

“Neither am I”, he whispered once he was inside. 

Theo didn’t dare to correct him because maybe it was true. Marcel was obsessed with science and medicine, not with poems. He dressed and moved and talked like a poet, but maybe that was the care he treated the time with he wasn't born in. 

The cafe looked like the 18th century had spontaneously decided to come back. Theo couldn’t stop looking around, he was fascinated by the furniture and the light and the aesthetic. He turned to Marcel, expecting a reaction. The dread doctor looked around Café Procope like he was coming home. 

They sat down on a small table and Theo tried not to die from a heart attack as he saw the prices on the menu. Marcel had worked a lot so they could afford the trip, and Theo felt like this time it was his turn to pay for something. 

But damn it, 23,50€ for a starter? This didn’t feel fair. Marcel noticed the prizes a second after him and looked so disturbed that Theo had to smile a little.

“It’s fine”, he whispered to comfort him. “Just order anything.”

Theo should’ve known that Marcel tended to be a selfless idiot, and that’s why he settled on one the cheapest dishes (“Vanilla Crème Brûlée”) and a black coffee. Just to show him the consequences of ordering something so simple on a special occasion, Theo ordered exactly the same. 

“Why don’t you-”, Marcel started. 

“I hope you feel stupid now”, Theo interrupted him. 

Marcel fell silent and frowned until the coffee arrived. Theo did his best to keep a straight face as he sipped his coffee but Marcel seemed to unironically enjoy it. He slowly ate his crème brûlée and kept looking around the cafe with every bite he took. 

Theo managed to finish the coffee. The dessert was great, it was simple but soft and he was almost sad as he finished it.

“I apologize for bringing it up again, Theo, but do you think I can become a doctor in this world?”

Theo pretended like his empty coffee mug was interesting; he stared at it until he found the right words. 197 days and he still wasn’t prepared for it. 

“I think that you can do a lot if you finally live. You aren’t old. Take care of yourself and you can annoy me for about 40 more years. Maybe you don’t want to be immortal again, I get that. But we can make you a doctor, Marcel. A real surgeon, if you want. Not to create evil but to save people.”

He wasn’t sure if he would get an answer to it, now or later. Marcel stayed silent long enough that Theo lost hope for a quick answer. 

It was fine. Theo hadn’t said it to get an answer, he wanted Marcel to understand. Nothing he did made sense, so he could at least let Marcel hope for a tomorrow that never came for Theo.

Theo insisted on paying and after they fought about it for ten minutes, Marcel silenced him with one of his death-glares and payed for their desserts and coffee. Theo sulked on their way to the hotel, and Marcel smiled about it. 

Before they entered the room, Theo texted Liam that he was okay and that he did his best to take care of Marcel. Liam texted back a 《great, love you》 that made Theo smile. One thing he didn’t get enough of on 13th of Julys was a “love you” from Liam. 

It was 7pm by now, late enough for Theo to call it a day. He turned on the TV and muted it, grabbed a book at sat down on his bed. Marcel reached into his suitcase, got out the bag Theo didn’t want to see and hid in the armchair. Again, Marcel surprised him by not talking about the things inside. He opened the diary and read it without saying anything. 

Theo changed into his comfortable clothing, cleaned away the mess he had caused earlier and sat down in front of the armchair.

“What are you reading?”, he asked.

“Old notes. It doesn’t have to bother you, Theo.” 

“But I want to know.”

Marcel closed the diary and smiled down at him. There were no words necessary when he gave Theo that specific glare. It was something that would never change, in the past, the present and - if Theo ever got one - in the future as well. He accepted it, nodded and leaned his head against the chair. Waking up at 6am made him tired and he knew that Marcel’s nightmares woke him up even earlier. 

Every second until 3am was worth a fortune, even silent ones like this. Theo closed his eyes for what felt like a minute, but as he opened them again the room was dark, the TV was turned off and his watch told him it was way past midnight. 

Marcel was sitting in the chair again but it was safe to assume that he had gotten up and turned off the TV and the lights. As Theo moved, he sat up straight. 

“Don’t you want to sleep in your bed?”, he asked.

“I could asked you the same”, Theo said. 

The silence was close enough to a “fair enough” to make him smile.

“I lived through this date almost 200 times, Marcel. You died every single night at 3am. Whatever I did, I woke up at 6am on the 13th on July. I should have the right to sleep on the floor.”

Marcel was silent for a suspiciously long time. Then, he shyly asked: “You have nightmares about me dying?”

Theo shook his head. 

“No. You die tonight. I can’t stop it and…” He almost cried but looked down until the urge stopped. “That’s why I know French now and how to play the piano and how to dance. I had enough time to practice.”

It didn’t surprise him that he got no answer to this. Theo listened to Marcel’s deep and calm breaths and wondered what he was thinking. Did he believe Theo and accepted it so quickly? Or did he worry about him? 

Theo looked at his clock and cursed time that was running out. He squeezed his eyes shut at 2:50. He didn’t want it to end. He didn’t want the perfect day to end. 

“It will be fine”, Marcel’s voice whispered. 

For the first time in their messed up father-son-relationship, Marcel stroked his head like he was comforting a child. 

“I’m here.”

_ But you leave me in ten minutes! _ , Theo wanted to scream. Instead, he leaned closer to the armchair and pretended like the night would never end. 

“I love you, dad”, he said because he wanted it to be the last thing Marcel heard. Theo didn’t know if there was an answer, but he felt shaky fingers stroking his head until he fell asleep. 

 

-

 

Theo’s alarm didn’t wake him up this day. It was the 14th of July and he was leaning against an armchair, next to a man that was going to be a doctor. Even if it was the last think Theo would do, he would help Marcel getting through this. 

“Fucking finally”, he said in French as the dread doctor turned his head and blinked at him. “It got boring, waking up next to your dead body.”

“I can imagine”, Marcel answered with a smile.

Theo chuckled nervously and glared at his phone to make sure he was reading the date right. 

“Merry Christmas, or whatever”, he muttered as he remembered what day it actually was.

“National holiday”, Marcel corrected him. 

Theo rolled his eyes at him. 

“Once we’re done celebrating, we are going to apply you for universities. Understood?”

Marcel looked down on him and nodded. The hope on his face was new. 


End file.
